His money, my money
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By Published by The Editorial Board
Published: July 23, 2008
Politicians not only spend a lot of time raising money for their campaigns, they spend a lot of time trying to convince the voters that something’s wrong with the money their opponents raised.
They do that as a way to divert attention from their ability to raise large amounts of cash — and to score some points with the voters.
U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-5th, is facing a young, tough challenger this year in Democrat Tom Perriello. Like Goode, Perriello has demonstrated a knack for getting campaign donors to write checks.
During the current election cycle, Perriello raised $920,000 and has $520,000 left. Goode has raised $833,697 and has $840,000 thanks to donations from previous campaigns. Those numbers cover the campaigns through June 30, which means we can expect this congressional race to quickly top $2 million before it’s over.
Asked about their hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, Goode and Perriello immediately went on the attack.
Goode’s campaign said Perriello is getting a lot of campaign contributions from New York and California. But those heavily Democratic states have Democratic donors who are willing to finance promising young Democratic candidates.
So there.
Perriello’s campaign said Goode received a quarter of his donations during this cycle from PACs, and over the years he has raised $1.5 million “from corporate and DC lobbyists.” But the reason he’s doing so well with lobbyists and PACs is he’s a member of the House Appropriations Committee and has a long, pro-business voting record in Congress.
So there.
Wouldn’t we get closer to the issues in this or any campaign if the candidates acknowledged that they’re both able to raise money from people and groups that some district residents either don’t like or don’t agree with?
The only way it matters that Perriello raised $160,000 from New Yorkers or Goode got “over $100,000 from oil, gas and electric utility interest groups” is if that money leads either one of them to represent those outside donors over the interests of 5th District residents.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( richardMD2008 ) on August 04, 2008 at 4:09 am
Mr. Vindicator, your credibility went down the drain when you called Obama the anti-Christ...nice try to make Virgil look good, but if you just look around, you will see he is not doing his job.
“Typical Democratic thinking to shift blame away from themselves while they continue to screw things up!” Who are you talking about? I specifically said I was a Republican. And that is what I like about TOM PERRIELLO, he doesn’t care what you are or where you are from, he will work for ALL of us.
That is one thing that is wrong with our country today is your type of mentality. It’s either your way or the highway. Republicans can’t do wrong, and God help anyone that gets in your way or says anything against you or your party. We are going downhill in this country as a direct result of Republicans, and it kills me to say this, being a Republican. But I have been blessed, too, with the vision and the ability to admit that this nation is worse now because of Republicans. I’m happy that you are satisfied with Goode. But for those, like me, I will be voting for Perriello. It can only get better.
Congress is like walking into a store. You can tell the people that have worked there for a long time. They just aren’t as eager and don’t have the energy or the enthusiasim as the new kids on the block. You know exactly what I mean.
That is what Tom will do. He is eager, full of energy, and wants to see things change.
Have you even met him? Do you even know what his goals are?
If you would like to know more information about him, please feel free to visit his website http://www.perrielloforcongress.com. I think you will be surprised. You will also see that he is talking about the same goals you would like to see happen in America. Just click on “The Issues” and see what he has to say.
I think we’d better put our differences aside, and work together for a better world.
If you go on this website, you will see that Virgil Goode’s report card is a D- , so, yes, I have done my homework on this before leaving a comment. How would you feel toward your child if he came home with a D-? I doubt you would say, “Good Job” as you have said about the so called job Virgil has done for us.
http://globalsolutions.org/politics/congressional_report_card/2007/grades?STATE=VA
On the NAACP, I believe his grade was even lower.
Then on youtube, “Goode Grief” you can hear some people yelling at him for driving up in a HUMMER to a parade.
I have lost complete respect for him, and he doesn’t deserve my vote.
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Posted by ( Vindicator ) on August 02, 2008 at 9:19 am
‘richardMD2008’ I have heard your arguments. They fall well short of having been made by viewing all of the facts. I can assure you right now, that if Mr. Perriello goes into office for the 5th District, NOTHING will change! Most people can’t see the forest for the trees. Doesn’t matter whether Goode goes back or your man takes over, NOTHING is going to change until we have 534 more Congressional members who are ALL working towards the same goal. To restore this Nation should be their first and foremost objective. This is not to say that your man is not a good man, but one man is not going to make the changes you have put forth here and we both know it! Goode has worked hard for our District since day one and has Never stopped working for us. I have followed his political career from the General Assembly to present and he has NEVER faltered in giving his best to his constiuents. If this country had 534 more Goodes in our Congress, we wouldn’t be in the shape we are today.
And as much as I appreciate your offer to pray for me, your efforts would be better spent on our country, Obama and Congress, as I can assure you they need them much much more than I do.
I give thanks to the Lord every night that I’m not blind to what is going on in Danville, Pittsylvania County, the 5th District, and the rest of the nation. I also give thanks to Virgil Goode for supporting his constiuents, and the Constitution of the United States. I just wish more Congressional members had read it and I also wish someone would inform Mr. Obama, that should he win the election, he will only be able to deal with the Palestinians for 4-8 years, not 10, as he stated in public.
Blaming Goode for job loss is the easy way out. Typical Democratic thinking to shift blame away from themselves while they continue to screw things up!
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Posted by ( richardMD2008 ) on August 01, 2008 at 6:15 pm
‘Vindicator’ I have been following this for quite a while now and felt I needed to respond to your comments. First of all, the ‘anti-Christ’? I don’t know if I should laugh, or feel sorry for you. Seriously. If you believe that, then you, dear sir, have been taken by those who have ‘worked overtime to brainwash some people around here’ about Obama being the anti-Christ. I will pray for you.
I, on the other hand, have had the opportunity to see Tom Perriello, at the John Grisham event in Martinsville (the famous author was helping him on his campaign.) John Grisham talked about Tom’s family, and how he grew up helping in Afghanistan and Darfur. I had the opportunity to see Tom outside. He is the first politician that wants to know what WE want done in Washington! He really cares about us. I really feel he could go anywhere with the two degrees that he holds from YALE. But he wants to help us. I am a Republican, but when people are out of work, they are not Republican or Dem’s, they are HUNGRY! I’m not saying I’m out of work, but I am tired of hearing how others are going to FIX our problems and NOTHING ever gets done. Goode has had 6 terms to fix things, and as you put it most elequently, our nation has been going down the tubes in a hurry. This has to do with the people that are CURRENTLY in office. No one else is to blame.
So, even as a Republican, I can tell you right now, I have given Goode plenty of time to change things and all he has changed is his bank account balance. (While our account balance has gone in the opposite direction.)
I will be giving this Tom Perriello a chance, because he says he will work a DOUBLE SHIFT to bring jobs back to our area.
I feel like I’ve had my car in the shop for the last 6 terms and it keeps breaking down. Virgil keeps saying he’ll ‘work on it’, but then a new auto mechanic comes in town and tells me he will work a DOUBLE SHIFT UNTIL MY CAR IS WORKING. Who do you think I’m going to bring my car to?
I’m not brainwashed, nor am I gullible. Before I decide to vote, I make sure I’m doing the right thing. I feel like I’m making a good decision this year. I know that it is an uphill battle trying to get someone out of office, but this guy has the energy, and the determination to help us out of this hole we are in now.
Please give thanks to our Lord before you rest your head to sleep tonight. You obviously are not bothered by what is going on in our cities in the 5th district, nor what our country is going through right now. We deeply need help, and we need it immediately.
Good luck to Perriello. I pray he will win and someone will be working for the people for once.
Sorry, Virgil Goode, you had your opportunity, and you chose to rack up $$ from the special interest groups and the lobbyists so you would have enough money to win this election, and in the meantime, how many people lost their jobs? When they lost their jobs, you lost me.
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Posted by ( Vindicator ) on July 31, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Well all I can say, after reading these comments, is it is plain to see why the United States is going to Hell in a hurry. I suppose you will all be supporting Obama the anti-christ as well! Wow, if I donate money to this democrat, will I have put some poor unemployed citizen back to work? I don’t think so, but I’m sure it will help ease your burden of guilt for having a job so you can sleep better tonight. So where did you get all of your guilt from? Just having a job? Liberals have sure worked overtime to brainwash some people around here. Don’t believe it? Re-read the comments!
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Posted by ( 2haute4u ) on July 27, 2008 at 11:21 am
DJC4 you sound like you are either Virgil Goode himself, or one of his staff to post such comments. I ask you, have you even met with Mr. Perriello, and spoke with him? I doubt it.
Well, I have, and I am a proud Republican. I was impressed with his REVIVAL plan and heard him say he was going to work double time for us in Washington to bring jobs back to the 5th district. I did, also, hear his voice crack with emotion when he mentioned the 400+ workers that just lost their jobs in Martinsville. I am impressed with him and he is not as you are describing him to be.
I realize, Mr./Ms. DJC4, you probably HAD to write that because Virgil is scared. Unfortunately, we are more tired of GOODE than he is scared of PERRIELLO! When you have a man in office during an election year that allows, with one swoop, 400 people to stand in the unemployment line, that should tell you how hard he is working for us.
I was at the Cantelope Festival on Friday. I was waiting outside for my friend to show with my ticket when I kept hearing all these nasty comments coming from the people walking toward the ticket booth. I then noticed Virgil Goode up ahead and put 2 and 2 together. The comments that I CAN post were, “Ah, man, somebody better HOLD ME BACK...Joe YOU BETTER HOLD ME BACK!!” And another lady passing buy breaking into the Stevie Wonder song, “‘Cause if you really wana hear the truth, you haven’t done nothin’” I was embarrassed to be a Republican. And I’m sure the Dems felt the same way, since Goode hopped the fence and became a Republican, I’m assuming for more votes.
Thanks Ranchgoddess for posting his site because I went on and donated too. I also checked the recurring donation box. I am cutting back and not going to buy silly things in the next couple of months - I’ve decided to give that money to PERRIELLO. When this guy gets to Washington and works a double shift to bring jobs to Virginia, it will be THE BEST RETURN ON MY MONEY EVER! I will feel like I had a personal role in providing jobs to the unemployed,
and that, Mr./Ms. DJC4, is PRICELESS....
Good luck Tom. We believe in you!
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Posted by ( DJC4 ) on July 24, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Perriello is not worthy of representing 5th district. He is a bleeding heart tax and spend liberal. If you want his New York ways you should move. He cannot practice law in Virginia and if he does not think enough of this state to be a member of its bar. How then can anyone want him to represent them from here? Of course if you are from NY then I guess you would be happy to vote from him. Look and see how much NY money he is getting. Looks to me that the conservative voice is being censored.
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Posted by ( thinkrationally ) on July 24, 2008 at 2:32 pm
The most informative and up to date information concerning campaign contributions that I have found is at campaigncontributions.com.When comparing the contributions the two candidates have received,from PAC and indivduals, because they both are public knowledge,I find it amusing, actually, that “Goode is getting $$ from fat-cats, Ranchgoddess. I am sure that it is going to be a close race, and I am still trying to make up my mind.
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Posted by ( KFP ) on July 24, 2008 at 10:27 am
I think a major concern is how each candidate presents himself to the electorate, especially when speaking about the concerns and interests that their money represents. Mr. Perriello has not only drawn the interests of citizens of the 5th District (on both political spectrums) to the needs and opportunities of the district, he has successfully communicated the spirit of his campaign nationally to individuals that understand the relevance of cities like Danville, Martinsville, or Bedford on a local, state, and national scale. This kind of financing strategy represents a sea change of politics that is more about the character and integrity of a political candidate vs. the traditional Washington business as usual tactics used by Goode.
In political fundraising, many streams make a mighty river. Thankfully Mr. Perriello has harnessed the collective interests of his district and the country through a shared belief in what can be achieved. Virgil, on the other hand, has diametrically opposed streams of interest that have created a violent rift instead of a mighty river.
Here’s a preview of those sentiments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uop7u9GUERU
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Posted by ( ranchgoddess ) on July 23, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Great article. I am glad you pointed this out to us!! It is nice to know that Perriello raised money from people that BELIEVED in him, and Goode raised his money from people that wanted to kiss his rear end, or BUY HIM OFF!! We all know that when you get to Washington you are either going to work for the people, or work for yourself. I think it is obvious which way Goode went. On youtube he is shown coming to a parade in a HUMMER!!("Goode Grief” on youtube) While this Perriello guy comes in a bio-diesel powered tractor. I don’t think it’s hard to see which one will roll up their sleeves to work for me, and which one is just looking out for himself. On Perriello’s website (perrielloforcongress.com) I noticed that he worked in Africa and makes his workers volunteer 10% of their time to the community. I figured if he’s going to do that for complete strangers, you can imagine what he’ll do for us here. He’s one of us. Since Goode is getting $$ from fat-cats that want to buy him off, I am sitting down tonight and going on his website and donating money!! We can’t afford to have Goode win again, but it’s up to US! I saw him at the Danville office the other day. I was impressed. (And I’m a REPUBLICAN!!) But I know Perriello can’t be bought in Washington. He graduated from Yale and came back to help ALL OF US!! So, the least we can do is help him beat the guy who’s main interest is himself. Goode is the reason the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I’m not going to sit back and watch this time. I’ve had enough. HAVE YOU?? I’m putting my money where my mouth is...Good luck Mr. Perriello.
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